Sheet lifting mechanism



March 2, 1954 KlNG SHEET LIFTING MECHANISM Filed July 31, 1952 Inventor: .2355 4. K/Nfi,

fix? War/7 Patented Mar. 2, 1954 UNITED ST;

ATENTF States SteeLQorporation, .arcorp;

Jerseyration .ofz-New Application Jilly 31,? 1952;"S1'ifl1M): 301,848

4: Claims.-. Cl. 29.4-v-106 This invention. relates: to! improvements; in mechanisms. for lifting piles :of :imetal sheets;;

Conventionallwsuchimechanisms comprise two. scrieszof jointed arms; whichare: hingedrat; their upper ends :to the opposite: sides of: "a .supporting structure; The JOWBIL'iBIldS. ofi'these' armsrcarryangledironswwhichihave" opposed .Jinwa'rdly. i'DIOij eating "flanges:- :adapted. :to engage" ;under1 atpile' OilShEEltS: for' supporting it.1'. Thawh'ole "mach-1. anismpnormall'yixisl carried by a suitable overhead crane. The supporting structure carries means for closing andopening'the arms and thus engaging and disengagingqloads- The; extremes to which. said arms can be. opened and closed ofcourse are limited and determine the-width range of sheets which" the mechanism can handle. However, the flanges on the angle'irons project far enoughinwardly-to support sheets whiclrz-are too narrow tobe engaged atv their side :edgesby the vertical: legs oft-the angle irons and the arms. The mechanism cannot safely handle sheets of such narrow width unless fillers are inserted at the side edges of the sheets to prevent slippage.

An object of the present invention is to provide sheet lifting mechanisms of the type described which have improved filler devices permanently attached thereto and readily movable into operative or inoperative positions as needed.

A more specific object is to provide sheet lifting mechanisms which have improved fillers permanently hinged with respect to the angle irons and quickly movable about their hinged joints to operative positions within the angle irons and inoperative positions clear of the space between the angle irons.

In accomplishing these and other objects of the invention, I have provided improved details of structure, a preferred form of which is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is an end elevational view of a sheet lifting mechanism which is equipped with fillers in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of one of the fillers;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a filler; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary end elevational view of a filler.

Figure 1 shows a sheet lifting mechanism which comprises two series of jointed arms 10 and I2 hinged at their upper ends to a supporting structure l3. At their lower ends the arms carry opposed angle irons l4 and IS, the horizontal flanges of which project inwardly and are adapted toxcngage under' -and -support apile offish'eets Apart from the fillers; hereinafter described; th'e: lifting mechanism can: beof any standard 'ors desired construction; and. therefore is; not'cnde;

, scribed in greater detail.

In accordance with the present inventiom eacm of the-angle ironsl l and 4 5 carries oneor more-- hinged filler devi'ce's It? As'b'est. shown in- Fig ures 2; 3. and 4 'thebackiof' the vertidaLl'egzofi each angle ironhas a reinforcing plate l 'rwvelded thereto, which plate carries upstanding.-:hinge brackets 18, one for -eachxfil'lerwdevices. Each: filler device; includes 'ia;metal-; backing rjplate tilt of channel shapesinplan anda 101001;; 2:11;; preferably; of? hardwood ,-,fixed1 within rsaid-backingiplatei by bolts. 21. The backiface-of-the backingmlate carries a pair of.-- hinge, brackets-22 .which::-are connected to one. of the hinge brackets. Siby- ,a. pin-23.

The filler devicescantbeamoved ito operatiue. positions shown in solid lines in Figure 4 in which" their blocks 2d are situated immediately within the opposed inner faces of the vertical legs of the angle irons I4 and I5. Thus they adapt the lifting mechanism for handling relatively narrow piles of sheets that otherwise would leave open spaces between the legs of the angle irons and the side edges of the sheets. The filler devices cannot slip out of place since they are permanently hinged with respect to the angle irons.

When not needed, the filler devices can be swung upwardly to inoperative positions shown in dot-dash lines in Figure 4 in which they overlie the reinforcing plates l1 and thus are clear of the space between the angle irons. One end of the backing plate I9 of each filler device preferably carries a small clip angle 24 which is positioned against the upper face of the reinforcing plate when the filler device is in its inoperative position. A keeper pin 25 is chained to the reinforcing plate adjacent each filler device and is adapted to be inserted through mating apertures in the clip angle 24 and the reinforcing plate for holding the filler device in its inoperative position.

From the foregoing description it is seen that the present invention affords a simple safety device that assures proper support for piles of narrow sheets in a lifting mechanism. The device is readily installed on existing lifting mechanisms without otherwise altering their structure.

While I have shown and described only a single embodiment of the invention, it is apparent that modifications may arise. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the disclosure set forth but only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a sheet lifting mechanism which includes a supporting structure, two series of arms hinged at their upper ends to opposite sides of said supporting structure, and angle irons fixed to the lower ends of said arms and having inwardly projecting flanges adapted to engage under and support a pile of sheets, the combination with said angle irons of filler devices comprising blocks adapted to occupy operative positions immediately inside said angle irons, and hinge means attaching said blocks with respect to said angle irons and enabling said blocks to be moved to inoperative positions clear of the space between said angle irons.

2. In a sheet lifting mechanism which includes a supporting structure, two series of arms hinged at their upper ends to opposite sides of said supporting structure, and angle irons fixed to the lower ends of said arms and having inwardly projecting flanges adapted to engage under and support a pile of sheets, the combination with said angle irons of filler devices comprising blocks adapted to occupy operative positions immediately inside said angle irons, hinge means attaching said blocks with respect to said angle irons and enabling said blocks to be moved to inoperative positions clear of the space between said angle irons, and fastening means for hold ing said blocks in their inoperative positions.

- 3. In a sheet lifting mechanism which includes a supporting structure, two series of arms hinged at their upper ends to opposite sides of said supporting structure, angle irons fixed to the lower ends of said arms and having inwardly projecting flanges adapted to engage under and support a pile of sheets, and reinforcing plates fixed to the outside of said angle irons, the combination with said angle irons of filler devices comprising blocks adapted to occupy operative positions immediately inside said angle irons, hinge means attaching said blocks to said reinforcing plates and enabling said blocks to be moved to inoperative positions in which they overlie said reinforcing plates and are clear of the space between said angle irons, and fastening means for holding said blocks in their inoperative positions.

4. In a sheet lifting mechanism which includes a supporting structure, two series of arms hinged at their upper ends to opposite sides of said supporting structure, angle irons fixed to the lower ends of said arms and having inwardly projecting flanges adapted to engage under and support a pile of sheets, and reinforcing plates fixed to the outside of said angle irons, the combination with said angle irons of filler devices comprising backing plates hingedly connected to the tops of said reinforcing plates, blocks attached to the faces of said backing plates, said blocks being adapted to occupy operative positions immediately inside said angle irons and being movable about the hinged connections to inoperative positions in which they overlie said reinforcing plates and are clear of the space between saidangle irons, and fastening means for holding said blocks in their, inoperative positions.

JESSE A. KING.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 808,202 Hunter Dec. 26, 1905 2,275,074 Carr Mar. 3, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 27,936 Great Britain 1913 

